What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
The name of the band was thought up in the car on the way back from our first ever gig. We were buzzing as the crowd loved us and gave us an encore. A few names were chucked around including Rusty Spanner and The Tool Kits and Eric The Pug, but ultimately Wild Horse felt right. It’s from The Rolling Stones song “Wild Horses” and Neil Young’s band Crazy Horse, as both of these artists were and still are massive influences on us.
In terms of our influences, we have an extremely wide range. We listen to all kinds of genres. Anything from Pavarotti to Kanye West. Because of this, it would be impossible to individually name all our influences but we incorporate the sounds of Pop, Soul, Rnb, Rock, Jazz, Hip Hop, Dance, Disco, House, Trap, Gospel, Country, Blues, Britpop and Funk into our music. So any artists within these genres, we’re probably influenced by them.
How do you approach songwriting?
We approach songwriting in an honest way. We try not to overthink things. We find that the song almost writes itself. We just know if something feels right in a certain song. The same applies to lyrics. We don’t search for a particular theme to explore. We just write about either our lives or the way we perceive the lives of other people and the state of the world. One of our main goals with our music is to provide part of the soundtrack to our listeners’ lives. We want to show that we all have more similarities than we do differences and we hope that people can relate to our music.
Why do you write the music that you do?
That’s a good question, we’ve never really thought about it. I think we just make music that we feel really excited about and enjoy. We think that definitely comes through in our records. If we have an idea that doesn’t excite us, we’ll scrap it. Ultimately, if we’re not excited by our own music, then how can we possibly expect anyone else to be?
How do you decide what to perform live?
We take a lot of care over the ordering of and songs we play in our set list. Playing shows is really where you find Wild Horse at its best and most comfortable. We always make sure to put on a show. It’s not just about the music, it’s about entertainment in all ways. The lighting, the stage presence, the audience interaction, the humor, the fashion. It’s all important and is all incorporated into our shows. Ultimately, it’s all about building up to a crescendo and keeping every member of the audience engaged the whole way through. For the whole time you’re on stage, you need to make sure you have everybody in the room in the palm of your hand. We therefore usually start with a few upbeat and fun tunes, some songs that most of our fans will know. We’ll then do a couple of slow songs to create a more intimate setting. Then we wrap things up with the fast and high energy songs. We always make sure that the audience are left wanting more. We treat every single show as if we’re playing a sold out stadium.
What plans do you have for the future?
We have lots of plans. We ultimately plan to mark out our spot in music history amongst the greats. To do this, we know we need to work. We are always doing something. Our new single JOY RIDE is out everywhere now and is receiving an incredible amount of love. We have another song ready for release in a couple of months and we are about to go into the studio to record some more songs. We are always relentlessly writing and gigging. We also hope to start planning a tour fairly soon. One thing’s for sure, we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!